Chausseestraße (Mitte, Wedding)

Chausseestraße, located in Berlin’s Mitte district, runs approximately 1.7 km across Mitte, connecting Friedrichstraße in the southeast with Müllerstraße in the Wedding neighborhood in the northwest—and thus also connects the neighborhoods of Mitte and Wedding.

This street is one of the streets that was divided into two parts during the division of Berlin—an East Berlin section and a West Berlin section. At the intersection with Liesenstraße, on the border between the Mitte and Wedding districts, the Chausseestraße border crossing was located until 1990.

Chausseestraße is an important thoroughfare—and may seem unremarkable at first glance. Along its route, however, the street is quite colorful and lively, and here and there you’ll find small attractions nearby just waiting to be discovered.

Walking down Chausseestraße

We begin our walk at the subway station Reinickendorfer Straße (U6). At this rather large intersection, Chausseestraße meets Müllerstraße—Schulzendorfer Straße joins the intersection from one side, and Sellerstraße from the other.

The first thing that catches your eye is the large building with the aluminum facade. Schering AG used to have its headquarters here—since the takeover, the building belongs to Bayer. The shape of the windows might remind you of the Apple Macintosh from the 1980s.

A little further on toward the southeast, or toward Mitte, we cross the Panke River. It might be worth taking a short detour or a stroll along the Panke here—just turn left and “somehow” follow the course of the Panke—you’ll always find a small path winding between the houses somewhere.

The next cross street on the left is Liesenstraße. The Berlin Wall used to be located here—and the border crossing “Chausseestraße” was located roughly here as well. Today, there’s a gas station here, and there’s hardly anything left to remind you that Berlin used to be divided at this very spot.

Here, too, it’s worth taking a short detour. Liesenstraße leads to the roundabout spanned by the Liesenbrücken (Liesen Bridges)—four railroad bridges, some of which appear to be in very poor condition. And on the right-hand side, you’ll find some of the last remaining sections of the Berlin Wall in their original locations. On both the left and right, Gartenstraße and Ackerstraße meet the roundabout.

Continue on Chausseestraße. Past the intersection with Ida-von-Arnim-Straße, you’ll find the headquarters of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) on the right. At the lower end, at the intersection with Habersaathstraße, is the visitor center.

The next major cross street is Invalidenstraße. Turn right toward the Natural History Museum, the Central Station, and the Tiergarten—turn left toward the North Station, Zionskirche, and Prenzlauer Berg.

At the next major intersection, Chausseestraße merges into Friedrichstraße—Torstraße begins on the left, and Hannoversche Straße on the right. Nearby, you’ll find many small restaurants and cafés, shops, and stores, as well as the Fotografiska gallery in the former Tacheles art house.

Chausseestrasse on the map